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Chair’s Summary

Tenth Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forum in Asia

2030 Road Map for Sustainable Transport ~ Aligning with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

14-16 March 2017
Venue: Don Chan Palace Hotel & Convention, Vientiane, Lao PDR

Forum Chair

H.E. Dr. Bounchanh Sinthavong,
Minister of the Public Works and Transport,
Lao People's Democratic Republic

I. Introduction

1. The Intergovernmental Tenth Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forum in Asia coorganized by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) of the Government of Lao PDR, the Ministry of the Environment of the Government of Japan (MOE-Japan), the Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), the United Nations Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD) and the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), from 14 to 16 March 2017 in Vientiane,

Lao PDR, with the theme of “2030 Road Map for Sustainable Transport ~ Aligning with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.

2. The Forum was officially inaugurated by H.E Mr. Somdy Douangdy, Deputy Prime Minister of the Lao
PDR, and chaired by H.E. Dr. Bounchanh Sinthavong, Minister of Public Works and Transport, Lao PDR. The Forum was attended by over three hundred participants comprised of national and city government representatives from thirty-eight countries (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, People's Republic of China (hereinafter, China), Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Kiribati, Republic of Korea (hereinafter, Korea), Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Russian Federation, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, TimorLeste, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe), subsidiary Expert Group Members of the Regional EST Forum in Asia, international resource persons, representatives from various United Nations and international organisations, multilateral development banks, scientific and research organisations, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), local observers and professionals from the transport and development sector in Lao People's Democratic Republic. As a whole, the participants attending the Forum were from forty-eight countries, which include twenty-five regular member countries¹ of the Regional EST Forum in Asia.

¹ Regular member countries of the Regional EST Forum in Asia includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, People's Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Republic of Korea, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam.

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3. As an integral part of the Tenth Regional EST Forum in Asia, the following three events were organized: (a) Pre-event on Contribution of Rural Transport to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, 13 March 2017; (b) The Regional Seminar on Sustainable and Inclusive Transport Development- Fostering Rural Transport Connectivity to help achieve SDGs, 14-16 March 2017; and (c) Vientiane International Mayors Forum, 15 March 2017. Further, the outcome of the Global Sustainable Transport Conference 2016 (Ashgabat, Turkmenistan) was jointly introduced by the Representative of the Government of Turkmenistan and Ms. Birgitte Bryld, Senior Economic Affairs Officer, Division for Sustainable Development, UN DESA. An update on the outcome of the 2016 Ministerial Conference on Transport (Moscow, Russian Federation) was provided by UN ESCAP along with the Regional Strategy and Policy Framework to Improve Rural Transport Connectivity to Wider Local, National and Regional Transport Networks.

4. The Forum was supported by a number of national and international organisations and donor agencies, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Department for International Development (DFID),

EMBARQ (The World Resources Institute’s Center for Sustainable Transport), Food and Agriculture

Organization of the United Nations (FAO), German International Cooperation (GIZ), ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, International Road Transport Union (IRU), Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), International Union of Railways (UIC), Research for Community Access Partnership (ReCAP), SAFER-Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre, University of Gothenburg, United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Victoria Transport Policy Institute (VTPI), World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Bank (WB).

5. Asia, being the most populated (with 4.4 billion people) and fastest growing and urbanising region in the world, will require a massive transformation in its transport sector in order to remain on the path of resilience, economic prosperity and sustainability. Although development in Asia has achieved spectacular progress on many fronts in the last decade in implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Asian countries and cities are facing several social, economic and environmental challenges due to unplanned urbanization and inadequate provision of infrastructure and basic services both in urban and rural areas. Increased rates of traffic accidents, congestion and pollution have been critical impeding factors hampering social well-being and economic prosperity in Asia, though member countries of Regional EST Forum in Asia have adopted the Bali Declaration on Vision Three Zeros –

Zero Accidents, Zero Congestion, and Zero Pollution (2013). At the same time, lack of accessibility has

been one of the critical challenges to uplift the rural economy and social well-being. Though rural connectivity is an important driver for rural development as well as resilience and empowerment of rural communities, dedicated investments for rural transport remains a critical challenge for many developing countries of the region. This has ultimately hampered efforts towards poverty eradication, hunger elimination, wider regional economic integration and sustainable regional development. Lack of efficient supply chain logistics and freight transport connectivity in rural areas and between rural and urban areas has adversely affected the farming community and their livelihood security. Crop wastages between farms and the consumers remains a critical challenge in achieving SDG 2 that calls to end hunger and achieve food security.

6. The Heads of State and Government and High Level Representatives of 193 Member States of the
United Nations adopted the post-2015 development agenda – Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 related targets at

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its core, at the UN Sustainable Development Summit held in New York from 25 to 27 September 2015. The Agenda, which represents a plan of action for people, planet, and prosperity, reflects the commitment of the countries to shift the world on to a sustainable and resilient path. Through the adoption of the Agenda, the member states have significantly reinforced the vital role of sustainable transport in achieving the SDGs.

7. At the 21^st Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris in 2015, Parties to the UNFCCC reached a landmark agreement, the Paris Agreement, to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future, and to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the average global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The Agreement calls for ambitious goals to set up appropriate financial flows, a new technology framework and an enhanced capacity building framework to support actions taken by countries based on their own national objectives (also known as Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs).

8. In the Third International Conference on Financing for Development held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,

from 13 to 16 July 2015, member countries agreed that “current policy, finance and investment patterns

are not delivering the future we want”. Therefore it is important to continue “strengthening official finance, and unlocking the transformative potential of people and the private sector while ensuring that investment patterns support sustainable development, and strengthen national and international policy environments.” Recognizing the importance of resilient cities and transport infrastructure, the conference further called for a new initiative to ensure sufficient investment in sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including transport, communication, water, sanitation and energy, in all countries”, and urged the international community “to increase its support to projects that foster regional integration, in collaboration with regional and multilateral development banks and other stakeholders.”

9. The New Urban Agenda (NUA) adopted at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable
Urban Development (Habitat III), which took place in October 2016 in Quito, Ecuador, provides a new framework that lays out how cities should be planned and managed to best promote sustainable urban development. The NUA outlines the emerging challenges and opportunities as urban population is expected to nearly double by 2050. The Agenda, reinforcing the key principles of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, presents a set of transformative commitments under three overarching themes: 1) Sustainable Urban Development for Social Inclusion and Ending Poverty; 2) Sustainable and Inclusive Urban Prosperity and Opportunities for All; and 3) Environmentally Sustainable and Resilient Urban development.

10. International, national and local level actions to achieve the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Climate Agreement, the Habitat III New Urban Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Global Decade of Action on Road Safety, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and the Nairobi Mandate are complementary to each other. While all of these global agendas and agreements are intrinsically linked, they also provide a vast opportunity for national and local government to capitalize on synergies in their efforts to achieve these goals and agendas. In this regard, the countries could align their transport policies, planning, financing decisions and development programmes with this objective. Given the current transport trends and developments in EST countries and that sustainable transport provides a common thread to these international agendas

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and agreements, they aggregately provide a potential framework and common ground to Asian countries and cities for moving forward to 2030.

11. As an expression of interest and commitment to promote inclusive, affordable, accessible, safe, lowcarbon, and sustainable rural transport infrastructure and services, the participating countries voluntarily

adopted the Vientiane Declaration on Sustainable Rural Transport towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

• II.
• Contribution of Rural Transport to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

12. A pre-event to the 10th EST Forum entitled “Contribution of Rural Transport to the 2030 Agenda for

Sustainable Development” was co-organized by the Lao PDR Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT), the Research for Community Access Partnership (ReCAP), the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for AsiaPacific (UN ESCAP) and facilitated by the Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT Partnership) on 13 March 2017. The pre-event was attended by more than 100 participants from more than 30 different countries, representing transport ministries, development agencies, UN organisations, civil society, academia, and the private sector. The pre-event provided an inclusive and interactive platform for policy-makers and relevant stakeholders in the EST region to exchange information and knowledge on the role of rural transport in realising the SDGs under the 2030 Agenda. The event also raised awareness on the role of rural transport research in achieving key development goals.

13. A keynote speech by the Vice Minister of Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Lao PDR, H.E.
Viengsavath Siphandone, emphasized the unique position of rural transport in the 2030 Agenda and explained how rural transport development in Lao PDR can contribute directly and indirectly to a number of SDGs, including SDG 1 to alleviate poverty; SDG 2 to achieve zero hunger and ensure food security; SDG 3 to ensure health and well-being; SDG 4 to provide access to education; SDG 5 to empower women in rural areas; SDG 6 to facilitate access to clean water and sanitation; SDG 8 to promote inclusive growth and economic opportunities; SDG 9 and SDG 11 to contribute to sustainable infrastructure and communities for all; and SDG 13 to increase climate resilience and adaptation in rural areas in the country. Representatives from UNCRD and UN ESCAP highlighted the key role of the EST Forum in improving planning and decision-making in the rural transport sector to improve access and provide regional connectivity in the Asia Pacific region. Representatives from ReCAP also highlighted the important role of research uptake and embedding in implementing rural transport solutions, and the necessity to include whole-life costing in assessments of rural transport projects and programmes.

14. A series of presentations illustrated various challenges of rural transport, including the “first-mile problem,” gender mainstreaming, and financing rural transport services. During a panel discussion on climate adaptation of rural transport infrastructure, speakers and participants compared experiences on policy measures to increase resilience, reduce vulnerability, and improve risk and disaster management. The final plenary session covered topics including how to increase sustainability of rural road networks through engaging local communities in rural road maintenance and effective asset management of rural roads.

15. The pre-event closed with an interactive session in which participants suggested key themes on rural transport to be included in a list of recommendations for policy-makers in the EST region. Participant suggestions spanned more than 20 topics relevant to rural transport, such as maintenance, safety, gender,

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technology, knowledge uptake and embedding, and private sector empowerment. The pre-event provided an inclusive platform for policy-makers and stakeholders to share lessons learned and to formulate policy recommendations on scaling up rural transport development in the context of SDG implementation.

III. Opening Session of 10th Regional EST Forum in Asia

16. H.E. Mr. Keophilavanh Aphaylath, Vice Mayor of Vientiane Capital City, welcomed the participants of the Tenth Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport Forum in Asia. He expressed his sincere appreciation to UNCRD, UNESCAP and other international organisations for choosing Vientiane as the venue for the Tenth EST Forum. Vientiane Capital City is the largest city in Laos, with the total area of 3.920 square kilometres, and with a total population of 740, 000. Vientiane has emerged as an influential city in South East Asia with increasing foreign investments from neighbouring countries. However, Vientiane is faced with rapid motorization. This has brought new challenges to the city such as influx of cars and motorbikes leads to congestion, air pollution, traffic accidents, and illegal parking encroachment. Vientiane has a plan to improve non-motorised transport and public transit within the city, which will encourage city people to use sustainable modes of transportation. He finally expressed hope that the Tenth Forum would not only create valuable opportunity to share among the world cities valuable lessons and technical knowhow in the areas of sustainable urban transport, but would also serve as a platform for sharing and strengthening international environmental cooperation among Asian countries and beyond.

17. In her opening statement, Ms. Chikako Takase, Director of United Nations Centre for Regional
Development (UNCRD), highlighted that this Forum is very special by marking the tenth anniversary. She described how it grew from a 14 country gathering to an annual Forum with 25 member countries. Yet, she noted that the EST Forum addressed the sustainability issues surrounding the transport sector from the very beginning as reflected in Aichi Statement. She explained that the Bangkok 2020 Declaration adopted in 2010 was one of the first regional efforts to address a number of goals around the Avoid-Shift-Improve approach. She also pointed out that a wealth of knowledge in various aspects of sustainable transport was created by these Forums. Observing the global scene on development, she noted that this Tenth Forum also takes place at very important moment. One full year has passed since the commencement of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Habitat III took place in October 2016 in Quito, Ecuador and adopted the New Urban Agenda. In addition, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change that was adopted in COP 21 in 2015 entered into force in November 2016. Building onto this concrete and steady progress on global processes, she hoped that this EST Forum would draw the 2030 Road Map for Sustainable Development, aligning EST programme with sustainable development goals. She noted that sustainable rural transport is highlighted in this EST Forum, starting from the pre-event on the subject. In this regard, she hoped that the Vientiane Declaration on Sustainable Rural Transport towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development would be adopted at the end of the Forum. In addition, she noted that the Vientiane International Mayors Forum is taking place as an integral part of the Tenth Regional EST Forum in Asia, and the Addendum to the Kyoto Declaration on EST is expected to be signed by many Mayors attending the EST Forum.

18. As a co-organizer of the Forum, the representative of UNESCAP, Mr. Madan B. Regmi, welcomed the participants and expressed his pleasure at continued collaboration with UNCRD in organizing the EST Forum and the Regional Seminar on Sustainable and Inclusive Transport Development- Fostering Rural Transport Connectivity. He mentioned that many SDGs and targets are directly and indirectly relevant

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for transport. Rural connectivity, sustainable urban transport and road safety were common priority themes being discussed in the Forum and included in the Regional Action Programme (2017-2021) adopted by the Ministerial Conference on Transport held in Moscow in December 2016. Outlining the challenges of making transport system more sustainable, he mentioned that many Governments of the region were already taking various initiatives to enhance sustainability of transportation systems. However, he stressed the further need to streamline transport policies towards achievement of the SDGs as well as regional commitments. Much focus was needed to: integrate land use and transport planning; improve public transport systems and services; improve road safety, ensure maintenance of transport infrastructure, use of information communication technology and intelligent transport systems, prioritize investments, and improve the rural and last mile connectivity. UNESCAP would continue to advocate sustainable transport policies and extend support to countries in their endeavors and sought to build new partnerships in their pursuit towards achievements of SDGs.

19. Delivering the opening statement, Mr. Jong Soo Yoon, Head of the United Nations Office for

Sustainable Development (UNOSD), thanked the host Government of the Lao People’s Democratic

Republic and all partners of the Tenth Regional EST Forum in Asia. While the previous approaches to sustainable development had not been completely successful in recognizing and understanding the close interrelationships among different sustainable development issues, the SDGs have been rather developed like a network, where those linkages are not only acknowledged but also strengthened through the

SDGs’ individual targets, serving multiple goals at a time. Accordingly, the SDGs are expected to

perform as one system, where the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 Targets are integrated and indivisible, and balance economic development, social development and environmental protection. Transport is, with no doubt, closely linked to the different development needs and stages of countries. It is thus no coincidence that vehicle fleets are doubling every five years or so in Asia. But questions remain open concerning the development of the transportation sector in Asia, which is accompanied by a growing demand for energy (2.7% annually), and increases in traffic congestion, accidents and fatalities not to mention air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In order to have positive impact towards achieving the SDGs, the development of transportation systems should take into account the mobility needs of the poorest and most vulnerable segments of the population and their living conditions, and their vulnerability and exposure to the adverse impacts of climate change and natural disasters. Mr. Jong Soo Yoon finally expressed his satisfaction on the theme of the Tenth Forum that aimed to connect the EST dots with the SDGs, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the New Urban Agenda. Underscoring the importance of rural-urban connectivity, he welcomed the participants to the Vientiane International Mayors Forum, which was subsequently organized as an integral part of the Tenth EST Forum.

20. Appreciating the efforts of UNCRD in organizing the Regional EST Forum in Asia since its inception,
Mr. Hiroaki Takiguchi, Director, Ministry of the Environment of Japan, expressed his deep appreciation

to the Government of Lao People’s Democratic Republic for hosting the Tenth Forum and other co-

organizers and partners in supporting the Forum. Noting the growing cooperation and friendship between Lao PDR and Japan, he noted that the Regional EST Forum in Asia had been steadily gaining international recognition since the first Forum in Aichi in 2005. While the number of participating countries has increased three fold, the number of international organisations is also demonstrating strong interest in the objectives of the Forum. The motorization has progressed as a result of rapid economic growth and urbanization in Asia. This has resulted in a number of local issues such as air pollution, traffic congestion, and traffic accidents, as well as global issues like global warming. As to climate